Rocket jumping

In first-person shooter computer and video games, rocket jumping is the technique of pointing a rocket launcher or other similar explosive weapon at the ground or at a wall then firing and jumping at the same time.^[1] The rocket's explosion propels the player to greater heights and distances than otherwise possible.^[2] One downside of this technique is that the rocket blast usually injures the player;^[3] this can be coupled with further damage if the player falls large distances to the ground. This effect makes the techniques less useful in games where the damage from the blast, fall, or both is high. In many games a well executed rocket jump results in a minimal damage, and a larger boost. In addition, in games with team damaging disabled, a teammate can use his rocket to jump someone else. The technique is used especially in competitive play where it is used in order to get to the middle capture point quickly in order to get an advantage over the other team. This is why new ways of jumping are being thought of all the time.^[4] Speedrunning is finishing jump maps as fast as possible and involves a lot of skill to master.^[5] In Quake III: Arena some of the computer-controlled opponents use rocket jumps.^[6]

Rocket jumping has appeared in several games in a variety of forms, sometimes as a form of Emergent gameplay. A horizontal form of rocket jumping appears in Doom (1993), where it is used to reach the secret exit in E3M6 (it is possible to reach the exit without rocket jumping, but rocket jumping was the intended method according to John Romero).^[7] The first games to feature vertical rocket jumping were Bungie Software's Marathon and 3d realms' Rise of the Triad (coincidentally, the two games launched on the same day, although the full version of Rise of the Triad came later). Rocket jumping became very popular in the original Quake (1996), and was used as an advanced technique for deathmatch play^[8] as well as for the Quake done Quick series. In Half-Life's (1998) multiplayer mode, the tau cannon can be used to launch the player into the air.^[9] In the multiplayer game Team Fortress 2 (2007), the Soldier class has a powerful rocket jump ability.^[3] This is fully integrated as a feature of the class, even appearing in one of the game's official trailer videos,^[10] and official game updates gave soldiers a unique rocket jumping animation. The Demoman class can also "sticky jump" similar to rocket jumping by using his remote-detonated pipe bombs. It became quite popular in its previous incarnation, Team Fortress Classic.^[11] Updates to the game have included special footwear that help protect from damage as a result of rocket jumping, such as the "Gunboats" and the "Bootlegger." There have also been weapons that encourage rocket and sticky jumping, such as the "Mantreads", the "Market Gardener", the "Rocket Jumper", and the "Sticky Jumper." Rocket jumping also appears in Unreal (1998) and Unreal Tournament, where the player can fire Eightball rockets beneath their feet and gain altitude. In that game it is also possible to perform a similar move, the "hammer jump" with the Impact Hammer.

Although not propelling the player himself, the Rhino tank in Grand Theft Auto III can rotate its turret 180 degrees to the rear and accelerate forward while firing. When combined with the flying cars cheat, this is the only way to make a car fly.

In Iji, the player cannot fire weapons while jumping, but can perform a standard rocket jump by allowing herself to be hit by an enemy rocket. Also, certain weapons have enough kickback to propel the player backward; this can be used to cross gaps with low ceilings where normal jumping will not work.

Other adaptations

Rocket jumping has appeared in other media as well. In the live-action film Transformers, the character Ironhide performs a rocket jump over a screaming woman after transforming from his truck mode.^[12]

In the film Planet Terror, lead character Cherry Darling uses her false leg, a machine gun with underslung grenade launcher, to rocket jump over a tall wall.

In the film Tokyo Gore Police, lead character Ruka uses a bazooka to rocket jump to a building's rooftop.

Grenade jumping is the same action, except throwing a grenade underneath yourself while jumping to achieve the same effect.

In League of Legends, the character Tristana uses an ability of the same name.

References

1. ^ Richard Grant (August 30, 1998). "Clan-speak explained". The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday (London): p. 27. 
2. ^ Victor Godinez (August 2, 2007). "With sponsors and big prizes, gaming is serious business". Dallas Morning News. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Josh Blodwell (9 October 2007). "The complete guide to Team Fortress 2". Custom PC. Archived from the original on 2007-11-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20071128055246/http://www.custompc.co.uk/handsonguides/2230/assault-2---the-soldier/. Retrieved 2007-12-02. 
4. ^ "Mac Cult, Fatal1ty, Photo Mosaics". The Screen Savers. TechTV. 2004-11-08. pp. Episode #2804. http://www.g4tv.com/screensavers/episodes/3642/Mac_Cult_Fatal1ty_Photo_Mosaics.html. Retrieved 2007-12-02. 
5. ^ Turner, B. (2005). "Smashing the Clock". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3142599&did=1. Retrieved 2007-12-03. 
6. ^ "The Quake III Arena Guide - Bots". PlanetQuake. GameSpy. http://planetquake.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Guides.Detail&id=43&game=4. Retrieved 2007-12-02. 
7. ^ Lee Killough. "Doom Level History". http://www.rome.ro/lee_killough/history/doomqna.shtml. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
8. ^ Dennis Fong. "Thresh's Quake Bible". http://www.quaketerminus.com/quakebible/adv-rjump.htm. 
9. ^ Half-Life SDK v2.3. 2002.  gauss.cpp line 350: "In deathmatch, gauss can pop you up into the air. Not in single play."
10. ^ "Team Fortress 2, trailer 2". Valve Corporation. http://storefront.steampowered.com/v2/index.php?area=game&AppId=931. Retrieved 2008-01-26. 
11. ^ "Team Fortress Classic Classes Guide". Planet Half-Life. http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=TFCGameInfo.Detail&id=3. Retrieved 2008-04-02. 
12. ^ Cameron Solnordal (October 13, 2007). "Guest gamer". Sydney Morning Herald: p. 15.